Esther Smith

is a partner in Qorvis Communications, a full-service public and financial relations and public affairs firm based in Washington, DC and McLean, VA. Founder of both Washington Technology newspaper and the Washington Business Journal, she was among the first to identify Washington's networked information technology industry as a global cluster. Until its acquisition by The Washington Post Co. in September, 1996, she was President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of TechNews Inc., the predecessor company to Post-Newsweek Business Media Inc. There she created the Fast 50/ Fast 500 promotion, the annual Greater Washington High Tech Awards event, and the National Technology Summit.

An experienced entrepreneur and corporate board member, she is a director of Provant Inc. (NASD:POVT), Boston, MA, and a director or advisor of several venture-backed companies and funds, including womenAngels.net. She is a commissioner of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Board Evaluation of the National Association of Corporate Directors. She is a senior advisor to the Netpreneur Program, an initiative of the Morino Institute to develop an entrepreneurial internet industry cluster; and is a member of the board of The Atlantic Council.

She manages a slash pine plantation in Camden County, Georgia.